一千年来，北京一直是几个帝国和朝代的都城。[2]然而，在15世纪初，它是一个相对不重要的“死水”，已陷入不光彩的失修状态。朱元璋皇帝，被称为“洪武帝”，以南京为首都。南京是一个位于长江沿岸，再往南一点的城市。[3]当朱元璋的第四个儿子朱迪于1403年开始担任永乐皇帝时，他就是在南京这样做的。然而，朱迪在中国北方的平原上呆了很多年，因此在那里建立了自己的权力；为了从他的侄子手中夺取帝国控制权，他发动了一场内战，因此，他试图把他的政府集中在一个他掌握的更舒适的地区，这或许不足为奇。当时，他选择的首都是北平(“北方和平”)；在朱迪的领导下，这座城市将在历史上第一次被命名为北京(“北方之都”)。

For a millennium, the city of Beijing has served as the capital several empires and dynasties.[2] At the beginning of the 15th Century, however, it was a comparatively unimportant “backwater,” and one which had fallen into ignoble disrepair. Emperor Zhu Yuanzhang, known as the Hongwu Emperor, had made his capital at Nanjing – a city situated on the Yangtze River, a little further south.[3] When Zhu Yuanzhang’s fourth son, Zhu Di, began his reign as the Yongle Emperor in 1403, he did so in Nanjing. However, Zhu Di had spent many years in the plains of northern China and had therefore built his power there; having instigated a civil war in order to take control of the empire from his nephew, it is perhaps unsurprising that he sought to center his government in a region more comfortably in his grasp. At the time, his chosen capital was named Beiping (“Northern Peace”); under Zhu Di, the city would, for the first time in its history, be named Beijing (“Northern Capital”).[4]

 A scale model of the Forbidden City, viewed facing south. ImageCourtesy of Flickr user Can Pac Swire (licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

紫禁城的规模模型，面向南方。Flickr用户CAN Pac Swire的图像礼貌(由-NC2.0在CC下授权)

这个新名字只是朱迪对北京宏伟愿景的开始。从1406年8月开始，朱迪下令将来自整个帝国的大量建筑材料运到首都：他的一些特使负责木材和石头的采伐，另一些则监督砖瓦的生产。他心目中的宫殿需要巨大的原木和大量的大理石，前者是从离北京1500公里的森林中运来的。所有其他材料，从粘土到黄金，几乎都来自中国的每个省份。从1417年到1420年，100，000名工匠将生产出100，000多万劳动者-其中许多是被定罪的罪犯或被征召的工人-聚集到他们的皇帝所设想的光荣的首都。

The new name was only the beginning of Zhu Di’s grand vision for Beijing. Starting in August of 1406, Zhu Di ordered a massive collection of building materials from across his empire to be brought to the capital: some of his envoys oversaw the harvesting of timber and stone, while others supervised the production of bricks and tiles. The palace he had in mind would require enormous logs and vast amounts of marble, the former of which were delivered from forests 1,500 kilometers away from Beijing. All other materials, from clay to gold, were sourced from virtually every province in China. From 1417 to 1420, 100,000 craftsmen would produce the elements which over a million laborers—many of whom were convicted criminals or conscripted workers—would assemble into the glorious capital envisioned by their emperor.[5]

 The Gate of Heavenly Peace, entryway to the Forbidden City, as it appears today, with its entrance topped by a portrait of Mao Zedong. ImageCourtesy of Wikimedia user Ekrem Canli (licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

天堂之门，紫禁城的入口，就像今天的样子，入口处顶着毛泽东的画像。维基媒体用户Ekrem Canli的形象礼貌(CCby-SA3.0授权)

新北京将成为一个区域内的城市。大约12平方英里(30平方公里)的面积，内城是一个长方形的地区，周围有40英尺(12米)高的墙。皇城的中心仅覆盖两平方英里(约5平方公里)，四周是另一堵墙。皇城是一个由皇帝亲属的住宅、帝国官僚机构的办公室、两座寺庙和一个宽敞的游乐公园组成的区域，公园内装饰着人工湖。在皇城的中心，四周环绕着一条护城河和第三堵墙，故宫本身也是如此。

The new Beijing was to be a city of districts within districts. Approximately twelve square miles (thirty square kilometers) in area, the Inner City was a rectangular area enclosed by walls standing forty feet (12 meters) high. At its center, covering only two square miles (roughly five square kilometers) and surrounded by another wall, was the Imperial City – a district comprising the homes of the Emperor’s relatives, the offices of the Imperial bureaucracy, two temples, and a spacious pleasure park decorated with artificial lakes. At the heart of the Imperial City, surrounded by a moat and a third set of walls, lay the Forbidden City itself.[6]

 The Meridian Gate, through which visitors would pass on their way to an audience with the emperor. ImageCourtesy of Wikimedia user Jorge Lascar (licensed under CC BY 2.0)

子午门，游客在途中与皇帝一起参观观众席。维基媒体用户Jorge Lascar的形象礼貌(CCby2.0授权)

顾名思义，紫禁城只对少数人关闭。它的外院位于皇宫建筑群的南部，用于公共观众和仪式，包括宽敞的庭院和纪念馆，旨在恐吓那些被允许进入的人。北面是内院，里面住着皇室、他们的仆人和皇帝本人的住所。和整个北京一样，这座建筑群与指南针的位置是一致的，所有四个基点都有大门。因此，紫禁城最重要的建筑是位于南北轴线上，从城市的南入口延伸而来。

As its name implies, the Forbidden City was closed to all but a select few. Its Outer Court, occupying the southern portion of the palace complex, was used for public audiences and ceremonies and comprises expansive courtyards and monumental pavilions designed to intimidate those who were allowed to enter. To the north lay the Inner Court, which housed the residences of the royal family, their servants, and the Emperor himself. The complex, like all of Beijing, was aligned to the points of the compass, with gates at all four cardinal points. As such, the most important structures of the Forbidden City were situated on a north-south axis that ran from the city’s southern entrance.[7]

 One of the five marble bridges crossing the Golden River. ImageCourtesy of Wikimedia user Dennis Jarvis (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

横跨金河的五座大理石桥之一。维基媒体用户DennisJarvis的形象礼貌(CCbySA2.0授权)

那些参观紫禁城的观众进入了南方门户，被称为子午门。在这里，他们被要求下马，步行进入一个广阔的庭院。五座大理石桥穿过一条弯曲的运河(名为“金河”)；在穿过其中一座桥后，游客穿过一座门屋，进入宫殿最大建筑脚下的另一个庭院：最高和谐厅。皇帝就是在这个巨大的空间里容纳观众的，而乞求者则需要通过下跪鞠躬的仪式来表达他们的敬意。[8，9]

Those visiting the Forbidden City for an audience entered by the southern portal, known as the Meridian Gate. Here, they were required to dismount horses and proceed on foot into a vast courtyard. Five marble bridges led over a curved canal (named the Golden River); after traversing one of these bridges, visitors passed through a gatehouse into another courtyard at the foot of the palace’s largest building: the Hall of Supreme Harmony. It was in this enormous space that the Emperor would hold audiences, while supplicants were required to show their respect by a ritual of kneeling and bowing known as the kowtow.[8,9]

 The Hall of Supreme Harmony viewed from the south. ImageCourtesy of Wikimedia user Daniel Case (licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0)

从南方看最高和谐大厅。维基媒体用户DanielCase的形象礼貌(CC由-SA3.0授权)

中央和谐大厦北侧的太和殿，是通过紫禁城，更大的规模，经过北京本身，形成了游行的高潮。三前厅，如他们所知，站在一个三层大理石平台，名为龙的人行道。从闪闪发光的石头上升起的是支撑着大厅的木柱；尽管屋顶下雕刻精巧的木制支架十分丰富，但这些柱子构成了宫殿建筑的主要结构构件。

The Hall of Supreme Harmony, flanked to the north by the Halls of Central Harmony and Preserving Harmony, formed the climax of procession through both the Forbidden City and, on a larger scale, through Beijing itself. The Three Front Halls, as they are known, stand upon a three-tiered marble platform named the Dragon Pavement. Rising from the gleaming stones are the wooden pillars that support the Halls; despite the profusion of elaborately carved wooden brackets underneath the rooflines, it is these pillars that form the primary structural members of the palace buildings.[10]

 The golden tiles of the roof, the ends of which were adorned with auspicious icons and characters, were a key symbol of the Forbidden City’s imperial status. ImageCourtesy of Flickr user See-ming Lee (licensed under CC BY-NC 2.0)

屋顶的金色瓷砖，其两端装饰着吉祥的图标和文字，是紫禁城帝王地位的关键象征。Flickr用户See-MinLee的图像礼貌(由-NC2.0在CC下授权)

在紫禁城，规模本身并不是权力的唯一标志，但建筑的独特高度和宽度(如最高和谐厅)无疑是权威的象征。屋顶的形式-一个水平的，四个倾斜的山脊，两个屋檐-传统上是为最重要的皇家建筑保留的。这一形式进一步强调了有光泽的黄色瓷砖(皇家颜色)。在紫禁城最初建造的时候，站在龙道顶上的观众只会看到院子里的大理石、墙上生锈的红色粘土、宫殿屋顶上的金色瓷砖和天空的辽阔。

While scale alone is not the only indication of power in the Forbidden City, the unique height and breadth of structures (such as the Hall of Supreme Harmony) stood as unmistakable symbols of authority. The form of the roofs—with one horizontal and four sloping ridges, and two eaves—were traditionally reserved for the most important imperial buildings. The form was further accentuated by lustrous yellow tiles (the imperial color). At the time of the Forbidden City’s initial construction, a viewer standing atop the Dragon Pavement would have seen nothing but the marble of the courtyard, the rusty red clay of the walls, the golden tiles of the palace rooftops, and the expanse of the sky above.[11]

 The Palace of Heavenly Purity served as the primary residence of 13 Ming emperors. ImageCourtesy of Wikimedia user Dennis Jarvis (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

乾清宫是13位明朝皇帝的主要住所。维基媒体用户DennisJarvis的形象礼貌(CCbySA2.0授权)

内院位于外院纪念馆的后面，规模相对较近。有围墙的通道网络通向各种住宅、厨房、工作室、茶室、图书馆以及皇帝、他的家人、他的妾和他们的一群仆人所需要的其他生活空间。内院的三宫与外院的三前厅相类似，虽然规模较小，但与其周围的环境相吻合。乾清宫是最高和谐殿的对应建筑，是皇帝本人的主要住所，但在清朝时被较小的精神修养厅取代。

Situated behind the monumental pavilions of the Outer Court, the Inner Court was built at a relatively intimate scale. A network of walled passageways leads to the various residences, kitchens, studios, tearooms, libraries, and other living spaces required by the Emperor, his family, his concubines, and their horde of servitors. The Three Palaces of the Inner Court stand in a similar arrangement to the Three Front Halls of the Outer Court, albeit at a smaller scale in keeping with their surroundings. The Palace of Heavenly Purity, the counterpart to the Hall of Supreme Harmony, was built as the primary residence of the Emperor himself, though it was supplanted in this function by the smaller Hall of Mental Cultivation by the time of the Qing Dynasty.[12]

建成后，紫禁城是明朝新都城的皇冠瑰宝。很快就被认为是紫金城，或“紫禁城”。这个名字不是指皇宫本身的颜色，而是指北极星，这意味着世界围绕着皇帝和他的紫禁城，就像天堂围绕着北极星旋转一样。

Upon its completion, the Forbidden City was the crown jewel of the Ming Dynasty’s new capital. It was soon after deemed Zijincheng, or “Purple Forbidden City.” This name alluded not to the color of the palace itself, but to the North Star, implying that the world revolved around the Emperor and his Forbidden City in the same way that the heavens revolved about the North Star.[13]

 Now thronged with tourists, the Hall of Mental Cultivation once served as the secluded residence of later Ming and Qing emperors. ImageCourtesy of Wikimedia user Clay Gilliland (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

现在挤满了游客，精神修养厅曾经是明清后期帝王的隐居之所。维基媒体用户克莱·吉兰(CC由-SA2.0授权)的形象礼貌

一批软弱的统治者继承了朱帝的统治，到1644年，明朝的逐渐崩溃使得清朝随后的征服和统治成为可能。清朝皇帝是满族人，与明朝汉人的祖先相比，他们在很大程度上保持了紫禁城原来的风格。大火经常摧毁皇宫的木制亭子，但唯一最值得注意的建筑，不是明朝的设计风格，而是最初的建筑群：特别是康熙皇帝，在紫禁城的东西部地区开始了一项雄心勃勃的建筑工程。[14.15]

A succession of weak rulers followed Zhu Di’s reign and, by 1644, the gradual collapse of the Ming Dynasty allowed for the subsequent conquest and reign of the Qing Dynasty. While the Qing emperors were Manchu, as opposed to their Han Chinese forebears in the Ming Dynasty, they maintained the Forbidden City largely in its original style. Fires regularly destroyed the palace’s wooden pavilions, but the only structures notably exhibiting Qing instead of Ming design sensibilities were those added to the original complex: Emperor Kangxi, in particular, embarked on an ambitious construction project in the eastern and western portions of the Forbidden City.[14.15]

 A pavilion in the Six Western Palaces, one of the sections of the Forbidden City built for Qing Emperor Kangxi. ImageCourtesy of Wikimedia user Clay Gilliland (licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0)

西宫中的一座亭子，是为清康熙而建的紫禁城的一部分。维基媒体用户克莱·吉兰(CC由-SA2.0授权)的形象礼貌

紫禁城不仅延续了明清两代，更广泛地延续了中国帝国。新生的中华民国于1925年宣布前宫殿为博物馆；与后来的清朝宫殿一起，这座有600年历史的建筑群于1987年被联合国教科文组织授予世界遗产地位。它精心而对称的庭院、园林、亭子布局，是中国古代城市理想的最大、最精致的典范，它的建筑和数千件文物都展示了中国及其邻国的多元文化史。[16]不再禁止，紫禁城是一座沉寂的纪念碑，象征着昔日帝国的辉煌-在这个时代，人们认为世界绕着褪色的红色墙壁和金色屋顶旋转。

The Forbidden City outlasted not only the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but Imperial China more widely. The nascent Republic of China declared the former palace as a museum in 1925; in conjunction with a later Qing palace, the 600-year old complex was afforded UNESCO World Heritage status in 1987. Its elaborate, symmetrical arrangement of courtyards, gardens, and pavilions stands as the largest and most elaborate example of ancient Chinese urban ideals, and both its architecture and the thousands of relics housed within showcase the variegated cultural history of China and its neighbors.[16] No longer forbidden, the Forbidden City is a silent monument to a bygone age of imperial splendor – a time when the world was thought to revolve around its faded red walls and golden rooftops.

参考文献[1]“北京、沈阳明清皇宫”。教科文组织世界遗产中心。2016年9月21日[进入]。[2]Li，Lillian M.，Alison J.Dray-Novey，和Haili Kong.北京：从皇都到奥林匹克城。纽约：PalgraveMacmillan，2007年。P7.[3]Dorn，Frank。故宫；故宫传记。纽约：Scribner，1970年。P10-11。[4]Holdsworth，May。紫禁城。香港：牛津大学出版社，1998年。P5.[5]Wood，Frances。紫禁城。伦敦：大英博物馆出版社，2005年。第11至14页。[6]Holdsworth，第18-19页。[7]李德雷-诺维和孔，第43页。[8]李德雷-诺维和孔，第43-44页。[9]Cowan，Henry J.和Trevor Howells。世界最伟大建筑指南：建筑杰作

References [1] "Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang." UNESCO World Heritage Centre. Accessed September 21, 2016. [access]. [2] Li, Lillian M., Alison J. Dray-Novey, and Haili Kong. Beijing: From Imperial Capital to Olympic City. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2007. p7. [3] Dorn, Frank. The Forbidden City; the Biography of a Palace. New York: Scribner, 1970. p10-11. [4] Holdsworth, May. The Forbidden City. Hong Kong: Oxford University Press, 1998. p5. [5] Wood, Frances. The Forbidden City. London: British Museum Press, 2005. p11-14. [6] Holdsworth, p18-19. [7] Li, Dray-Novey, and Kong, p43. [8] Li, Dray-Novey, and Kong, p43-44. [9] Cowan, Henry J., and Trevor Howells. A Guide to the World's Greatest Buildings: Masterpieces of Architecture & Engineering. San Francisco, 2000: Fog City Press. p93. [10] Holdsworth, p23. [11] Holdsworth, p23-24. [12] Barmé, Geremie. The Forbidden City. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 2008. p40. [13] Holdsworth, p20. [14] Dorn, p16. [15] Barmé, p47-55. [16] “Imperial Palaces of the Ming and Qing Dynasties in Beijing and Shenyang.”

中国北京东城景山前路街4号

Location 4 Jingshan Front St. Dongcheng, Beijing, China Category Historic Preservation Architect, Engineer Kuai Xiang Area 720000.0 sqm Project Year 1421